Tagged: airlines

Is a Basic Economy Ticket More Trouble Than It’s Worth?

It’s a choice budget-conscious passengers always face when booking a flight: Do you select the absolute cheapest fare, or pay more for added comfort and convenience? The decision has…

Airline Passenger Bumping Is Back. Do You Know Your Rights?

Lately, it seems like everything that could go wrong in air travel has done just that, from entire airlines going on the fritz to technical glitches temporarily grounding…

4 Tips for Finding Cheaper Airfare in 2023

Last year was a tumultuous one for airfare. As the worst of the pandemic subsided, a combination of strong travel demand, rising fuel prices, and a still-lagging overall number of…

How Safe Are U.S. Airlines Compared with the Rest of the World? Safety Monitor Has Answers

The swarms of flight delays and cancellations plaguing airports were easily the worst parts of travel in 2022—and so far the same issues haven't exactly made 2023 a happy new year for…

8 Things You Should Always Pack in Your Onboard Personal Item for Air Travel

To avoid checked baggage fees and the risk of an airline misplacing your luggage, it's smart, when you're packing for a flight, to limit yourself to your airline's carry-on allowance.…

Frontier Airlines Hangs Up on Customer Service by Phone

Frontier Airlines, the carrier so cheap it won't even allow most passengers to recline seats without fees, has found a new way to cut costs and further contribute to the indignity of…

A Rare Fee Reduction! The TSA Trims the Cost of PreCheck

You don't see this very often these days: prices going down. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration and its enrollment partner IDEMIA, eager to get more travelers signed up…

Airplane Etiquette: Survey Names the Most Annoying Behavior in the Skies

What type of air traveler annoys you the most? Having recently taken a flight from Frankfurt to Boston during which I tried to watch The 40-Year-Old Virgin on a seat-back screen…

The World’s Best Airlines Ranking Is Out—and the U.S. Didn’t Do So Hot

This year, air travelers have endured a parade of woes. But even as an understaffed commercial aviation industry struggles to keep up with heightened demand following the easing of…

NYC Airports No Longer Include Newark—How the Rule Change Could Affect Travelers

Newark is no longer in New York. Geographically, of course, the New Jersey city never was. But Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is so close to New York City—closer, in fact,…

Find Out What You're Owed for a Canceled Flight with This New Online Tool

UPDATE, September 6: This post, originally published September 3, has been updated below. As we reach the end of a summer travel season plagued with flight delays and cancellations,…

The FAA Wants Your Thoughts on Airplane Seat Sizes

If you think airplane seats are too small—and it's hard to imagine anyone this side of Smurf Village who wouldn't feel that way—the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would…

5 Things You Can Do to Avoid Flight Delays and Cancellations

In the summer of 2022, when friends tell us they're about to fly somewhere on vacation, the typical reaction isn't so much "I'm jealous" as it is "Wow, good luck with that." It…

Experts Say Airfares Are Falling This Fall—How to Save on Autumn Air Travel

Good news in air travel has been hard to come by this summer, what with the surges in cancellations, delays, lost luggage, and ticket prices. Unfortunately, we can't promise things…

Will the U.S. Government Finally Stop Airlines from Separating Kids and Parents?

We can all agree that kids should sit next to their parents on flights, right? And we can also agree that parents shouldn't have to pay an extra fee or higher fare to sit next to their…

Better Pack Light! Mishandled Checked Luggage Spikes at Airports

You can add lost luggage to the long list of problems plaguing air travelers in this summer of canceled flights, hours-long airport lines, and soaring ticket prices. U.S. airlines are…

Airlines Messed Up 2022. All Your Travel Plans Should Be Cancellable Now

However you slice it, the airlines messed up this summer. They overpromised and can't deliver, and we're the ones paying the price.More than 14,000 U.S. flights were canceled or…

New Airline Selling Incredibly Low-Cost Fares Between New York and London

Bargains on airfare are few and far between this year, but a start-up European airline is bucking the trend—and on one of the world's most popular transatlantic routes. Norse Atlantic…

Why You Definitely Shouldn't Eat Pretzels on an Airplane

We know it's hard to imagine an airline doing anything that would cause passengers to experience physical discomfort in the skies, but trust us on this: Those free pretzels offered by…

Aruba Wants to Pay You Back for Airline Baggage Fees

As if soft sands and turquoise waters aren't incentive enough to visit Aruba, the Caribbean island has now launched a promotion to reimburse visitors for their airline baggage…

Start-Up Breeze Airways Launching Cross-Country Flights to West Coast from New York

UPDATE, April 27: Since announcing the below routes, Breeze Airways has released plans to add daily nonstop service to its 30th destination—Orlando, Florida. The flights will commence…

U.S. Extends Mask Mandate for Travel, But Only By Two Weeks

Update, April 18: The TSA announced that as of April 18, it will no longer enforce the mask mandate during its last few remaining days. Some airlines and travel facilities have…

Which U.S. Airline Takes the Best Care of Luggage?

U.S. airlines carried about 224 million checked bags in the second half of 2021—a significant increase from the 159 million bags checked from January through June. Inevitably, the…

Why Alaska Airlines' New Subscription Service May Not Save You Money

Like much of the traveling world, I'm a big fan of Alaska Airlines. The mid-sized carrier consistently ranks in the top five or in the number-one spot for customer satisfaction and…

Low-Cost Canadian Carrier Swoop Adds Service to 5 More U.S. Airports

Update, June 12, 2023: Swoop will cease operations and integrate into WestJet's fleet as of October 28, 2023. OK, budgeteers, time to open up the calculator app. Another à la carte…